Leu Numismatik AG
Auction 5 27 Oct 2019
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Byzantine Weights, Circa 6th-7th centuries. Weight of 1 Semissis (Glass, 19 mm, 2.18 g), Akakios, eparch of Constantinopolis (?). Facing bust of Akakios between two crosses; below, monogram of AKAKIOY. Rev. Blank. Bendall -. Pera -. An unusually sharp and clear weight cast in beautiful blue glass. Light pitting, otherwise, very fine.
Almost all known Byzantine glass weights are coin weights for solidi, semisses and tremisses. They were widely used in the 6th and 7th centuries and are usually signed by an eparch in the form of a monogram. Whether this is always the eparch of Constantinopolis, as has been suggested, is a matter of debate, as other great cities such as Antiochia-Theoupolis and Alexandria will undeniably have produced their own coin weights. This piece is signed by the monogram of the eparch Akakios, whose portrait it features on the obverse. Unfortunately, we do not know when exactly and where this Akakios lived, but it is worth noting that the British Museum possesses another glass weight of a solidus signed by an Akakios (BM 1891,0512.13), albeit with a different form of monogram and without the portrait above. In any case, the survivability rate of glass weights must have been quite low due to their fragility, and attractive pieces such as this one are, as a result, quite rare.
Almost all known Byzantine glass weights are coin weights for solidi, semisses and tremisses. They were widely used in the 6th and 7th centuries and are usually signed by an eparch in the form of a monogram. Whether this is always the eparch of Constantinopolis, as has been suggested, is a matter of debate, as other great cities such as Antiochia-Theoupolis and Alexandria will undeniably have produced their own coin weights. This piece is signed by the monogram of the eparch Akakios, whose portrait it features on the obverse. Unfortunately, we do not know when exactly and where this Akakios lived, but it is worth noting that the British Museum possesses another glass weight of a solidus signed by an Akakios (BM 1891,0512.13), albeit with a different form of monogram and without the portrait above. In any case, the survivability rate of glass weights must have been quite low due to their fragility, and attractive pieces such as this one are, as a result, quite rare.